Court Asked to Curb North’s Disclosures
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WASHINGTON — In another roadblock to Oliver North’s Iran-Contra trial, the Justice Department today asked the judge to implement new safeguards to prevent North from making surprise disclosures of classified information.
North “has made no effort to assist the court in dealing responsibly with classified information,” the department said in a court filing.
Charging that North has provided “totally useless or at best minimally informative” notices of the documents he wants to disclose, the department urged U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to institute greater protections to prevent unwarranted disclosures.
The request came as jury selection in the case drew near a close.
A department source said that if Gesell ruled against the government it would appeal. Such an appeal could delay the trial.
Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, whose office is prosecuting North, opposed the filing.
Gesell scheduled an afternoon hearing to discuss the dispute.
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